Turkey to protect its citizens against disinformation: Erdoğan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan described social media on Dec. 11 as one of the main threats to democracy and vowed to protect citizens against disinformation. 

"Social media, which was described as a symbol of freedom when it first appeared, has turned into one of the main sources of threat to today's democracy," Erdoğan said in a video message to a communications conference in Istanbul.

He added: "We try to protect our people, especially the vulnerable sections of our society, against lies and disinformation without violating our citizens' right to receive accurate and impartial information."

Turkey passed a law last year requiring social media platforms that have more than 1 million users to maintain a legal representative and store data in the country. Major social media companies, including Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, have since established offices in Turkey.

The new legislation would make the dissemination of "disinformation" and "fake news" criminal offenses punishable by up to five years in prison, according to media reports. It also would establish a social media regulator.

Erdogan,